For most bosses influencing your company is hard at the best of times, let alone when you're not even in the room. Trifling things like physical presence are not a problem if you're Steve Jobs, however: his fingerprints were all over Apple's annual meeting of investors, despite the fact that he wasn't even there.

Apple's other senior staff took control of affairs at the AGM today in Cupertino since Jobs couldn't be there (he is, you might have heard, taking a leave of absence to fight ill health).

Investors were once again reassured that Jobs is still in the loop, and that he will be back in June as previously announced. But they were also told that the company does have a succession plan in case the worst comes to the worst – except that it's a secret.

"He is deeply involved in all strategic matters… nothing has changed," said director Arthur Levinson - before adding that the board has been discussing succession strategies regularly, but that "if there's new information that we deem is important to disclose, then that will happen."

Despite all this interest, though, Apple appeared to take the line that his absence might be seen, but it would rarely be heard.

Questions about Jobs were limited, and the company also refused to comment on reports that US financial regulators were investigating how the disclosures over his health were handled.